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Just as Mario is the leading mascot of Nintendo, Sonic managed to secure his spot as Sega's leading star. He had appeared in quite a few games on the Mega Drive. Sonic & Knuckles does something quite different from the rest of the series, and different from the rest of the market in general. Aside from giving us an entirely new character this game is a rare piece of hardware that can "lock-on" to other game cartridges. After some time playing I can conclude that this is no mere gimmick, and that the rest of the product hasn't been forgotten.

Well, for all its differences there is still a fairly distinct sense of familiarity to the game for fans of the series, as S&K carries over many of the features presented in the series, and especially those of Sonic 3. This is not a bad thing, as these features melded together for an excellent experience.

Speed is a major focus in any Sonic game, and S&K does this perfectly. Both playable characters can run at high speeds, although needing a littl...

THE GOOD:It's one of the best Sonic games ever.Lock-on technologyKnuckles is playable for the first time ever.Good musicFun to play no matter how many times you played it.Good graphics for an old game.Most of the zonesHas the the same fast-paced gameplay that Sonic has always had.Not too easy or not too hardGood boss fights

THE BAD:No save feature (Unless locked on with Sonic 3)No Tails (Again unless locked on with Sonic 3)Sandopolis Zone is a bit annoying

SUMMARY:Sonic 2 was one of my first ever games to play and I enjoyed it. Then Sonic 3 came out and I enjoyed that game too. Then finally Sonic and Knuckles came and it improved over the previous Sonics. Read my review and see why I think of this game that way.Gameplay: This takes what Sonic 3 had and expands the greatness of the gameplay. You can choose from Sonic and Knuckles as the title suggests. You can use Tails too (I'll get back to that later.) The save feature seems to be gone this time around but don't worry if you lock thi...

THE GOOD:Backwards compatibility with Sonic 3. Both Sonic & Knuckles have their own games.

THE BAD:If you don't have Sonic 3, you really can't get the full value out of this game. No 2-player co-op option.

SUMMARY:One of the last Sonic titles released for Genesis, this game broke new ground with it's backwards compatibility with Sonic 3. What this meant was you could play Sonic 3 with Knuckles and unlock other previously secret content. In the new game, both Sonic & Knuckles have their own abilities and each can play though stages the other cannot-like 2 games in 1.Graphics & gameplay are about on par with other Sonic titles-very fast with simple but responsive controls. Despite the new addition and new moves there really isn't much new with regards to actual gameplay, which is a bit disappointing. Also the speed unintentionally adds to difficulty at times. Additionally, there's no option for letting 2 people play together, one as Sonic and the other plyer as Knuckles. That would have...

THE GOOD:Ability to play as Sonic, Tails or KnucklesCombined with Sonic 3Combined with most Mega Drive games allowed you to play different special stages

THE BAD:Nothing really

SUMMARY:Sonic and Knuckles was the follow up to Sonic 3. This was different because it allowed you to put in Sonic 3 (as well as other games) in the top of the cartridge. This made Sonic 3 even better (which I'll explain below) and by putting in other games you could play many special stages for fun. Putting in Sonic 2 allowed you to play that game with Knuckles. His gliding abilities put a whole new aspect on that game allowing far easier access to parts of the levels.

Sonic and Knuckles carries on where Sonic 3 left off. Sonic has followed Dr Robotnik onto the Floating Island, home of Knuckles. You start the first level off by dropping off on the Floating Island. He immediately blocks your path and you have to wait. Since this is his home and knows it very well he makes life very difficult at times blocking of...